Bracelet or the like and method of making the same



L. KREISLER Oct. 19, 1948.

BRACELET OR THE LIKE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME 2 Sheets-Sheet lFiled May 51, 1946 INVENTOR LESLIE KHEZS'LER BY fill/HM ATTORNEY Oct.19, 1948. KREISLER 2,451,749

BRACELET OR THE LIKE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME INVENTOR v LESLIEHEB/SL155 ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 19 1948 BRACELET OR THE LIKE AND METHODOF MAKING THE SAME Leslie Kreisler, Teaneck, N. J assignor to JacquesKreisler Manufacturing Corporation, Bergen, N. J., a corporation NorthApplication May 31, 1946, Serial No..67-3,691

"12 Claims.

This invention relates to bracelets or the like, and more particularlyto bracelets for wrist watches and a method of making the same.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a flexiblebracelet which is fabricated from individual links and has theappearance of obliquely interwoven, continuous bands.

It is another object of the present invention inseparably to join theindividual links of the bracelet by inserted pins on Which the linkspivot and which are, in turn, permanently anchored in the joined links.

It is another object of the present invention to fabricate the braceletfrom individual links of simple form which have little bulk, yet areextraordinarily strong and defy all ordinary attempts at theirdeformation when in bracelet form.

It is another important object of the present invention to devise amethod of fabricating bracelets of this type which lends itself tohighly efficient mass production of the bracelet at extremely low cost.

The above and other objectafeatures and advantages of the presentinvention will be more fully understood from the following descriptionconsidered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a greatly enlarged elevational view of a section of a braceletembodying the present invention;

Fig. la is a smaller elevational view of a section of a modifiedbracelet;

Fig. 2 shows greatly enlarged individual links as they are coordinatedprior to their formation into the bracelet shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 2a shows a modified element used in the fabrication of the braceletshown in Fig. 1a;

Fig. 3 is a top view of the coordinated links shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 illustrates an intermediate step in the formation of thecoordinated links into bracelet form;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation ofthe parts shown in Fig. 4 asviewed in the direction of the arrow 5 in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a section through the bracelet as taken Fig. 10 shows amodified" element of the bracelet.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral 20 designated abracelet (Fig. 1) which is fabricated from individual links 22 (Figs; 2and 3). The links 22 are in the form of spirals made preferably frommetal of hat, or relatively fiat, stock. In the present instance, thespiral links 22 are made from half-round stock as shown in cross-sectionin Fig. '7. The links 22 are of two types, namely oppositely directed orwound spirals 22a and 22b (Figs. 2 and '3), which are used alternatelyin the fabrication of the bracelet for a reason which will become clearhereinafter.

In fabricating the bracelet, as many links 22 as are required thereforare initially assembled by intermeshing the convolutions 26 of alternatelinks 22a and 22b in the fashion shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and extendingpins 28 through the openings 3|], provided by the intermeshedconvolutions of adjacent links 22 (Fig. 3), to hold the parts in theassembled relation shown in Fig.2. The links 22 and pins 28 assembled inthe relation shown in Fig. 2 are hereinafter referred to as the linkassembly 32. It will be noted in Figs. 2 and 3 that the adjacent ends 24of consecutive links 22 in the assembly 32 are disposed alternately onopposite sides of the assembly 32, for a purpose which will becomeevident hereinafter.

The adjacent ends 24 of the links 22 of the assembly 32 may next beplaced between platens 34 (Figs. l and 5) which are relatively movableto and from each other. On relative movement of these platens 34 towardeach other, the interposed ends 24, of the links 22 are bent inwardlytoward their adjacent pins 28 to the extent shown in Fig. 4, for apurpose which will become obvious hereinafter.

The link assembly 32 is next placed between rams 36 shown indot and dashlines in Fig. 2, which preferably have clearance holes 38 for thereception of the adjacent ends of the pins 2-8 of the interposed linkassembly 32. The rams 3B are relatively movable to and from each other.On relative movement of the rams 36 toward each other, the spiral links22 of the interposed assembly 32 are axially compressed and theirintermeshed convolutions 26 forced into permanent opposite non-yieldingretainer platens 40 shown in dot and dash linesin Fist 3 and 6.

'(Fig. 1).

In compressing the link assembly 32, as described, the opposite ends 24of each link of the assembly will also be forced or wedged between theadjacent pin 28 and the adjacent end convolutions 26 of the adjacentlink 22 in the fashion shown in Figs. 6 and 7, thus formingapproximately straight side edges 42 on the bracelet (Fig. 1). Hence,while the convolutions 26 of the links 22 of the compressed assembly 32-intermesh, the adjacent end convolutions 26' of said links are alsointerlinked by the wedged-in ends 24 of the latter, as will be readilyunderstood. Of course, the inward bends previously imparted to the ends24 of the links 22 of the assembly by the platens 34 (Fig. 4) facilitatethe compression of the link assembly 32, in that the inwardly bent ends24 are in more favorable position for their forced entry between theadjacent pins 28 and nearest end convolutions of the adjacent links 22.

After removing the compressed link assembly 32 from between the rams 36,the pins 28 may be cut to proper length and then riveted over as at .44'in any suitable way (Figs. 1 and 7).

The formation of the bracelet is now completed, and it may then undergoa plating process or any. other embellishing process. Each end link 22'of the bracelet 26 (Fig. 1) comprises a number of convolutions 26" whichare well suited for conventional pivotal connection with a wrist watchand a conventional connector (neither shown) to open and close thebracelet.

In compressing the link assembly 32 as described, the same is elongatedlongitudinally as follows clearly from a comparison between Figs. 1 and2 and also between Figs. 3 and 6. The link assembly'32 is, during itscompression, elongated longitudinally, since the links 22 thereof areprevented from expanding transversely of the assembly 32 by the retainerplatens 40 (Figs. 3 and also causes a positive interlock between theintermeshed convolutions 26 of adjacent links 22, which can be brokenonly by axially expanding the'intermeshed links 22, but such expansionof the links is prevented by the pins 28 and their riveted heads 44. Theinterlock between the intermeshed convolutions 26 of adjacent links 22is attained by the inevitable mutual deformation of these intermeshedconvolutions at their intersections in consequence of the explainedcompression of the link assembly 32. The interlock thus obtained betweenthe adjacent links 22 reinforces their connection to the point wherethey will never loosen appreciably, yet leave the bracelet suflicientlyflexible for wear around a per- Compression of the link assembly 32 1yapproach the appearance of obliquely interwoven, continuous bands,rather than present the unsightly appearance of joined spiral elements.

Inasmuch as each link 22 of the bracelet is continuous throughout thewidth of the latter and each convolution 26 of the same passes aroundthe adjacent connecting pins 28, the bracelet has extraordinary tensilestrength and will never appreciably loosen or break apart over a longperiod of the most strenuous use as a wrist watch bracelet, forinstance. Despite its great tensile strength, the bracelet may beslender in .appearance, since the oblong links 22 may be made ofrelatively heavy stock without appearing unduly bulky in the bracelet.

The parts 22 and 28 from which the bracelet is fabricated are extremelysimple and inexpensive to make. Furthermore, the described steps ofassembling these parts 22 and 28 and forming them into the bracelet 26constitute a method which lends itself to highly efficient massproduction of the bracelet at very low cost.

In order to further reduce the cost of manufacture of the bracelet and,hence, the price of the bracelet to the purchasing public, the cost ofriveting over the ends of the pins 28 may be eliminated altogether. Tothis end, the pins 28 may temporarily be inserted into' the intermeshedconvolutions 26 of adjacent links 22 for the purpose of forming the linkassembly 32 as shown in Fig. 2, and may be replaced prior to thecompression of the assembly by shorter pins 68 (Fig. 8), the oppositeends 62 of which are tapered so that the pins 66 are permanentlyretained in the intermeshed convolutions of adjacent links 22 when theends 24 of the latter curl around said tapered pin ends 62 oncompression of the link assembly 32 in the previously explained manner.To replace the temporary pins 28 in the link assembly 32 (Fig. 2) withthe permanent pins 60, the latter may be placed end to end against thetemporary pins 28 and moved axially into the link assembly 32, wherebythe pins 28 are simultaneously removed therefrom.

While permanent retention of the pins 66 in the bracelet is accomplishedby intimate contact of their tapered ends 62 with the adjacent ends 24of the links 22 of the bracelet (Fig. 8), the same may be accomplishedby using pins' 64 of the type shown in Fig. 10 in lieu of the pins 66shown in Fig. 8. The pins 64 have opposite reduced ends 66 with whichthe adjacent ends 24 of the links 22 of the'bracelet will be in intimatecontact, thus preventing axial removal of said pins 64 from thebracelet.

A still further expediency of permanently anchoring the pins in theintermeshed convolutions of the adjacent links 22 of the bracelet isillustrated in Fig. 9. In this instance, even shorter pins 76 are usedwhich terminate short of the endmost convolutions 26 of the links 22 ofthe bracelet, so that said endmost convolutions 26 will, during thecompression of the link assembly by the rams 36, close sufficiently toprevent axial escape of said pins 16 from the bracelet.

While it has been mentioned hereinbefore. that the links 22 areassembled in the relation shown in Fig. 2 with the aid of temporary pins28, and that the latter are then replaced by permanent pins of any ofthe types shown in Figs. 8, 9 and and 10, it is also contemplateddirectly to assemble the links 22 with pins of either one fof the typesshown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10, without'first using the temporarypinsZB. Therelatively short permanent pins 60, 64 or J affordsufdciently secureconnections between the links 22 of the non-compressed assembly 32 (Fig.2) to; permit subsequent compression of the latter without jamming anylinks. i Y Fig. la shows a section of a slightly modified bracelet 86which is fabricated from spiral links 82 of the modified type shown inFig. 2a. The modified spiral links 82 distinguish: from the spiral links22 (Fig. 2) in that their opposite ends 8 6 terminate onthe sameside ofthe links (Fig. 2a), resulting in laterallyaligned end convolutions 86in the bracelet 80.

While I have-shown and described the preferred embodiment ofgmyinvention, itwill be .understood that various changes may be made in thepresent invention without departing from the underlying idea orprinciples of the invention within the scope of the appended claims. Y

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire tosecure byLetters Patent, is:

1. A flexible bracelet band, comprising a, series of alternate,oppositely directed spiral elements arranged side-by-side with theconvolutions of adjacent elements in meshed relation, theintermeshedconvolutions of adjacent elements being at each of their intersectionsmutually deformed into mutual limited interlocked relation to preventsubstantial relative movement between said arranged side-by-side-withtheconvolutions of adjacent elements in meshed relation, the intermeshedconvolutions of adjacent elements being at each of their intersectionsmutually deformed into mutual limited interlocked. relation to preventsubstantial relative movement between said adjacent elements, other thanrestricted relative pivotal movement therebetween about axes parallel totheir longitudinal axes, and pins extending through said meshedelements, respectively, for positively holding them in said meshed andrelatively pivotal relation.

3. A flexible bracelet band, comprising a series of alternate,oppositely directed spiral elements arranged side-by-side with theconvolutions of adjacent elements in meshed relation, each spiralelement being formed of substantially flat band stock disposed widthwisesubstantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the element, theintermeshed convolutions of adjacent elements being at each of theirintersections mutually deformed into mutual limited interlocked relationto prevent substantial relative movement between said adjacent elements,other than restricted relative pivotal movement therebetween about axesparallel to their longitudinal axes, and pins extending through saidmeshed elements, respectively, for positively holding them in saidmeshed and relatively pivotal relation.

4. A flexible bracelet band, comprising a series of alternate,oppositely directed spiral elements of generally oblong convolutions,said elements being arranged side-by-side with the convolulongitudinallyof the band, the intermeshed convolutions of adjacent elements being ateach of their intersections mutually deformed into mutual limitedinterlocked relation to prevent substantial relative movement betweensaid adjacent elements, other than restricted relative pivotal movementtherebetween about axes parallel to their longitudinal axes, and pinsextending through said meshed elements, respectively, for positivelyholding them in said meshed and relatively pivotal relation.

5. A flexible bracelet band, comprising a series of alternate,oppositely directed spiral elements of. generally oblong convolutions,each spiral ele ment being formed of substantially flat band stockdisposed widthwise substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis ofsaid element, said elements being arranged side-by-side with theconvolutions of adjacent elements in meshed relation, and disposed inthe band so that they extend with the longer dimensions of theirconvolutions longitudinally of the band, the intermeshed convolutions ofadjacent elements being at each of their intersections mutually deformedinto .mutual limited interlocked relation to prevent substantialrelative movement between said adjacent elements, other than restrictedrelative pivotal movement therebetween about axes parallel to theirlongitudinal axes, and pins extending through said meshed elements,respectively, for positively holding them in said meshed and relativelypivotal relation.

6. A flexible bracelet band, comprising a series of alternate,oppositely directed spiral elements arranged side-by-side with theconvolutions of adjacent elements in meshed relation and adjacent endconvolutions of adjacent elements intercurled,the intermeshedconvolutions of adjacent elements being at each of their intersectionsmutually deformed into mutual limited interlocked relation to preventsubstantial relative movement between said adjacent elements, other thanrestricted relative pivotal movement therebetween about axes parallel totheir longitudinal axes, and pins extending through said meshedelements, respectively, and having their ends riveted over the adjacentintercurled convolutions.

'7. A flexible bracelet band, comprising a series of alternate,oppositely directed spiral elements arranged side-by-side with theconvolutions of adjacent elements in meshed relation and adjacent endconvolutions of adjacent elements intercurled, the intermeshedvconvolutions of adjacent elements being at each of their intersectionsmutually deformed into mutual limited interlocked relation to preventsubstantial relative movement between said adjacent elements, other thanrestricted relative pivotal movement therebetween about axes parallel totheir longitudinal axes, and pins extending through said meshedelements, respectively, and having reduced ends fitting into theadjacent intercurled end convolutions, respectively.

8. A flexible bracelet band, comprising a series of alternate,oppositely directed spiral elements arranged side-by-side with theconvolutions of adjacent elements in meshed relation and adjacent endconvolutions of adjacent elements intions of adjacent elements in meshedrelation,

tercurled, the intermeshed convolutions of adjacent elements being ateach of their intersections mutually deformed into mutual limitedinterlocked relation in which to prevent substantial relative movementbetween said adjacent elements, other than restricted relative pivotalmovement therebetween about axes parallel to their longitudinal axes,and pins extending through said meshed elements, respectively, andhaving tapered ends fitting into the adjacent in tercurled endconvolutions, respectively.

9. A flexible bracelet band, comprising a series of alternate,oppositely directed spiral elements arranged side-by-side with theconvolutions of adjacent elements in meshed relation and adjacent endconvolutions of adjacent elements intercurled, the intermeshedconvolutions of adjacent elements being at each of their intersectionsmutually deformed into mutual limited interlocked relation to preventsubstantial movement between said adjacent elements, other thanrestricted relative pivotal movement therebetween about axes parallel totheir longitudinal axes, and pins extendin through said meshed elements,respectively, and terminating short of the endmost convolutions of thelatter, and said intercurled end convolutions of adjacent elements beingin the path of aXlal removal of the pins from the meshed elements.

10. In a method of making a flexible bracelet band according to which aseries of alternate, oppositely directed spiral elements are arrangedside-by-side with the convolutions of adjacent elements in meshedrelation, and pins are inserted into the meshed convolutions of adjacentelements, respectively, that improvement which comprises compressing theintermeshed elements in the direction of their longitudinal axes to suchan extent that the intermeshed convolutions of adjacent elements are ateach of their intersections mutually deformed into mutual limitedinterlocked relation to prevent substantial rela tive movement betweensaid adjacent elements, other than restricted relative pivotal movementtherebetween about axes parallel to their longitudinal axes.

11. In a method of making a flexible bracelet band according to which aseries of alternate, oppositely directed spiral elements are arrangedside-by-side with the convolutions of adjacent.

elements in meshed relation, and pins are inserted into the meshedconvolutions of adjacent elements, respectively, to form a chain ofconnected elements, that improvement which comprises confining theelements of the chain against expansion transversely of the latter, andcompressing the elements of the confined chain in the direction of theirlongitudinal axes to such an extent-. that the intermeshed convolutionsof adjacent elements are at each of their intersections mutuallydeformed into mutual limited interlocked relation to prevent substantialrelative movement between said adjacent elements, other than restrictedrelative pivotal movement therebetween about axes parallel to theirlongitudinal axes.

12. In a method of making a flexible bracelet band, the steps ofarranging a series of alternate. oppositely directed spiral elementsside-by-side in chain formation with the convolutions of adjacentelements in meshed relation and. adjacent ends of successive elementsdisposed alternately adjacent opposite faces of the chain, insertingpins into the meshed convolutions of adjacent elements, respectively,forcing the ends of said elements laterally inwardly of the latter, andcompressing said meshed elements in the direction of their longitudinalaxes to such an extent that the intermeshed convolutions of adjacentelements are at each of their intersections mutually deformed intomutual limited interlocked relation to prevent substantial relativemovement between said adjacent elements, other than restricted relativepivotal movement therebetween about axes parallel to their longitudinalaxes.

LESLIE KREISLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 155,941 Grant Oct. 13, 1874398,427 Midgley Feb. 26, 1889 728,827 Anthony May 26, 1903 1,784,254Schofer Dec. 9, 1930

